Behind the walls of Ba Sing Se
by TomasLipi
Summary: Ba Sing Se was always a busy city, but after Zaheer killed the earthen emperor the city went from busy into chaotic. Army and police fell apart while gangs and clans took over the city. The story follows young firebender Taro who lives in the Lower ring of Ba Sing Se. Taro lives his normal life but then something bad happens.
1. Chapter 1 - Burned

**Chapter 1. - "Burned"**

"Wake up son it's your 18th birthday." Taro opened his one red eye and looked on his dad. He just stood there with a big smile on his face.

"Yeah, I know." Replied Taro, closing his eye and turning on the other side. "Give me five more minutes."

"No way." Said Taros dad. He approached his son and picked him up with just one hand.

"I am not a little boy anymore, you can't just pick me up like this."

Dad looked at him and smirked. "I guess I can." Said and hit Taro into a shoulder. He smiled back at his father while rubbing the hurt shoulder. "That hurt dad." Said Taro while getting dressed into classic green clothes of the earth kingdom.

"You have five minutes before the tea is ready." Taros eyes got wider and started shining. He just loves tea, it's his favorite beverage.

"Ok dad, I'll be there in a minute."

Taros dad left the room and shut the door. The young firebender then grabbed a bowl with water and heated it by firebending. Taro splashed some water on his face, brushed his teeth and poured the dirty water out of the window. "My cabbages!" Came from the street.

Taro sat on his bed for a minute admiring the wall in front of him. He wasn't looking at the wall because he likes the look of walls. He was staring at the wall because of what is on it. Taro was looking at his poster collection. There is the poster of Fire Ferrets with Mako, Bolin and of course the young and beautiful Avatar Korra. Taro sighed and blushed. Right next to the Fire Ferrets poster is a poster of Bolin as Nuktuk and under those two posters are wanted-posters of the entire team avatar. Taro stole them from a pub two streets away from his home.

Then he looked into his small mirror one red and one brown eye met his sight right away. Yeah one red and one brown eye, one of many reasons kids in the school called me a freak, the other one is of course my firebending. Earth kingdom people kinda hate firebenders and who could blame them, especially after what happened during the 100 years war. Taro then tried to do something with his spiky brown hair and after this attempt to do Bolin styled haircut failed, he just gave up.

"Ok, time to go." Taro got up and entered the living room.

* * *

><p>His mom and dad were sitting side by side at the table in the middle of a room. Taros mom got up and hugged her son. "Happy birthday sweety."<p>

"Thanks mom." Taro sat down at the table. He picked up a cup of tea that was in front of him. Taro took a sip of the tea with both of his parents staring at him and then it hit him. The tea was amazing, it was the best cup of tea he ever had.

"Oh my goddess, the tea is amazing. Where did you get it?"

"Do you remember the Jasmine Dragon tea shop that was closed couple years ago?" His mother said.

"Yes of course, I heard about it from a lot of people. They kept saying that the place had the best tea in the city. Are you trying to tell me that this is the tea from The Jasmine Dragon?"  
>His father nodded.<p>

"I know some people who are trading with the looters of Ba Sing Se's Upper Ring and few days ago I found a guy who looted some secret stash in The Jasmine Dragon. It cost me a lot of Yuans, but seeing your face now pays it off." Mom and Dad laughed when Taro realized that he has his mouth wide open. Taros dad, Mikhail, handed over a small wooden box to his son with Jasmine Dragons sign burned on it.

"Really?"

"Yeah really, just take it already." Taros smile got wider when he laid his hands on the wooden box.

"Thank you."

"But that's not everything, I have one more gift for you." Taro looked up from his wooden box looking at father and started to tremble with excitement. Although what could be better than a tea from The Jasmine Dragon?

"Come with me." Said Mikhail. Young firebender finished his cup of tea and followed his father into the fathers and mothers room. Mikhail then opened a small chest which was hidden under the bed. The thing his dad showed to him was absolutely beautiful. It was a mask made of an a bone. The mask was shaped into a head of a dragon. The mask is white with some red stripes and ornaments.

"Wow, I never knew we have something like this in the house."

"Yeah I kept it a secret, since we live in the Lower ring and almost everybody would kill for owning something like this. It is a mask made of dragon bone, that my grandfather killed. My father gave it to me when I was 18 years old and it is the only thing that I took with me when I left home."

"If your father gave it to you when you were 18, why didn't you gave it to my older brother Rin when he turned 18?" Mikhail sighed and frowned.

"You know Rin and how he is. I just had this feeling that he would sell it and use the money for something bad."

"Yeah," said Taro sadly, "I'm glad that you believe in me." Taro smiled at his father and gave him a big hug.

* * *

><p>Taros family lives in a two floored house which is really big for a house in the Lower Ring, although their house is tall it is also narrow. They use the upper floor as an apartment and the bottom floor as a canteen. They cook soups and sell them for just four copper Yuan. Even after the death of the earth monarch and the riots, people are still coming. Because of the chaos the Ba Sing Se is in Taro is selling vegetables in a little stall in front of their house. It is the only stall that is still working. Most of the vendors stopped selling their goods after the riots started, mostly because their suppliers stopped importing the goods into the city. Luckily Taro has his own supplier.<p>

Taro stands by his stall. It almost looks like nothing has changed after the assassination, people are still walking around the streets, they are buying food, kids are playing with a ball and old people are looking out of their windows yelling at them.

But still a lot has changed after the now famous Zaheer killed the Emperor and tried to kill the Avatar. The city was thrown into a chaos, inner wall was taken down yet some parts of it are still standing. Riots ended as quickly as they started and streets were taken over by gangs and some so-called clans, they then created their own territories and after that the civil war, or gang war or just a war started. City was torn apart and since then streets are flooded by opposing armies fighting over their territories. Even the Middle and Upper Rings are divided by those gangs. They are mostly fighting over the palace and the stuff that's been left there.  
>Two gangsters disturbed Taro from his thinking.<p>

"Hey Taro, how is it going?" Said one of them.

"What do you want Akio?"

"Oh you know... some free stuff." One of the gangsters, Akio, reached for an apple with really disturbing smile on his face. Taro immediately reacted and slapped his hand.

"You know you can't take free stuff from my stall, my brother being your boss doesn't mean you can take whatever you want from MY stall."

"Oh so you are bringing your brother into this, you know he can't protect you everywhere."

"I don't need my brothers protection."

"And I don't need your blessing to take whatever I want. I will just take it and you can't tell me not to." Akio took the apple he was reaching before he turned his back and both of the gangsters started laughing. You just made a big mistake. Thought Taro.

The young firebender jumped over his stall while spinning in the air. That gave him power to his firebending and the second he was over his stall while still in the air, he send one fireblast with his left leg on Akios head, one fireblast with his right leg on his back and when he landed he send two other fireblasts on the other gangster by his hands clutched into a fist.  
>Akios face said hi to the ground in a brief of a second and the other gangsters smile disappeared as his mustache did, due to the fireblast that hit his face.<br>Akio stood up with dirt on his face and a big angry frown his eyes were almost on fire, figuratively.

"You're going to pay for that."

"No Akio, YOU are going to pay for that... apple."

Taro made a fire-ring around himself. Akio seemed afraid for a moment, but he shook it off and with one stomp he and his co-gangster lifted two boulders into the air. There was a moment of hesitation which was broken right after both launched the boulders. Taro elegantly dodged both boulders with couple steps to the side. While he was dodging the attack he was spinning and with that enhancing the fire, he was quickly launching fireblasts by punching the fire-ring around him. Five fireblasts hit Akio and other four blasts hit his friend. Both of them were sitting on the ground with smaller burns all over their bodies resting and breathing heavily. Taro was still firmly standing in the fighting position with a much smaller ring of fire around him.

Akio looked at him and the half broken stall. "There are all of my Yuans, just don't hurt us anymore."

He threw a little bag full of Yuans on the ground under Taro and then covered his face expecting another fireblast but only thing that hit his face was the little bag with Yuans. Akio looked up and saw Taro with two copper Yuans in his hands.

"Thanks for buying my apple, have a nice day gentlemen." Akio and his co-gangster stood up and ran away.

Taro looked around full of fear, expecting police to show up but that never happened. It took him a while before he realized where and when he is. It is true that all the police forces fell apart few days after the assassination and those who didn't joined the quickly forming gangs just left the city. Truthfully even the army fell apart, part of the soldiers went home into their villages scattered all over the country and part of them joined the gangs and clans just because of the promise of becoming rich in this broken city.

Then the clapping happened, Taro turned at the sound and saw a big guy, his best friend Dan. Dan is a non-bender and somehow he is so much into Taros firebending even though his grandparents were killed by the Firenation.

"That was some amazing firebending. Pew Pew Pew Pew." While he did the Pew sounds he was punching air all around him impersonating Taro.

"I just wish I knew how to do some bending." Added Dan.

"Hi Dan, what are you doing here so early?"

"And the 'YOU are going to pay for that... apple' I almost started crying from laughter. Yeah hi Taro. Early? It's almost time for lunch."

"Lunch? Well I have been here for a long time, but it didn't felt like it."

"Guess it's because of your daydreaming." Said Dan reaching for apple in a basket and taking a huge bite out of it.

"I'm not daydreaming."

"Yeah you are. Hi Poppy." Dan greeted little girl approaching them. Taro turned to her and greeted her.

"Hi Poppy, you here for lunch?"

"Hi guys, yep and I'm here also because of business." Poppy is 14 years old girl that works for Taro as his supplier.

"Any problems?" Asked Taro.

"No, just one shipment is coming earlier then normally and I need you to remove some boxes in your basement so my people can use the underground tunnel."

"Yeah of course, right after the lunch I will move the boxes."

"Great, the kids will be there about an hour after the lunch." Said Poppy.

"Wow you two are so shady when talking about your work." Threw there Dan while almost choking on the rest of his apple. Taro looked creepy on Dan and said.

"I would have to kill you if you tell anyone."

"Yeah yeah mister creepy guy, can we eat already I'm starving." Said Poppy and stormed into the canteen.

"What about your stall?" Dan looked at the mess.

"It's nothing. I have a lot of baskets in the basement." Answered Taro and both went into the house.

* * *

><p>After the lunch Taro repaired his stall and moved the box in the basement. Shipment that two kids at the age of 10 brought was consisted of three full bags of vegetables and some seasoning for the soups. Poppy and her group worked for Taro even before the riots. Her group is full of kids that steal food from the Middle and Upper rings. Because of the old Ba Sing Se that is buried underground the present Ba Sing Se, Poppy and her group can move freely all over the city and easily steel from the rich. After his work was done he hang out with Dan. They were having fun walking through streets looking at women, drinking some alcohol and telling jokes.<p>

It was late night when Taro got home, this time he didn't get drunk, mostly because he wanted to read something when he gets home and partly because he forgot to take his little bag of Yuans. Taro got into the house and went upstairs, he reached for the key but in the middle of his move he saw that main door to their apartment are opened and that there isn't any light. Taro came in and with his firebending lit up all the candles. The horrific scenery that showed up left him speechless.  
>The whole place was turned upside down, everything was broken and his parents they...<br>His mom was covered in so much blood that he couldn't see how many times she was cut. His dad sat there on the ground pinned by three ice spikes to the wall, you could see a lot of black places where his fathers fireblasts landed, his father took a breath.  
>Taro ran to him and sat right beside him.<p>

"Taro." Said Mikhail softly.

"It's me dad, I'm here. Who did this to you?"

"Some waterbender, I didn't saw his freaking face." Taro started to cry.

"You are going to be okay dad, I promise you that."

"No son, I won't... I know it." Mikhail started to cough out blood.

"Dad, you can't do this to me." Every word was followed by little cry.

"They took grandfathers mask son... Please find it... and don't rush into any danger..." Mikhail coughed up more of his blood. "You are the best thing that ever happened to me son and I want you to..." Cough. "I want..." Cough. "I want you..." Cough. "I want you to be safe."

"Dad no."

When his father breathe his last breath Taro cried out loud. All of the candles started to produce bigger and bigger flames and than the upper floor exploded. Flames consumed everything in the apartment except Taro.

Taro sat there in the middle of a room where their table used to be, he put the flames down and sat there with nothing but silence surrounding him.

* * *

><p>This is my first attempt to write shortstories in english so please keep it in mind. Also I would love to see some reviews :-)<br>Thanks for reading and look forward to another chapter.


	2. Chapter 2 - Memories

**Chapter 2 - Memories**

"Where are you going freak?"

"Home Georgie." Said seven-year old Taro.

"Not that fast, first you have to give us your lunch." Georgie and his two friends blocked the path.

"I'm sorry, but I have already ate it."

"Then we have to punish you." In few seconds circle full of kids formed around them. The kids started chanting Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Taro's eyes filled with tears.

"I don't want to fight you." Said Taro with his voice cracking.

"Good." Said Georgie and hit Taro in the face. Taro immediately fell while holding the place where he hit him. Tears started to fall on the dusty ground, but Georgie wasn't finished. He kicked Taro in the stomach making him lay on his back. Georgie and his two friends started to kick him in the stomach again and again. The little bully and his companions stopped. They were smiling and laughing.

"It's time for your face to say hello to my new boots." When the bully was about to hit him in the face, Taro screamed and waved his hand from left to right.

"No!" He screamed and fire he just conjured slammed with Georgie and the other two on the ground. Georgie's friends were on the ground with some bruises, but Georgie was on fire. He screamed on the ground trying to put the fire down. The other kids helped him put down the fire. How, how did this happened. What am I? Taro thought. After the fire's been dealt with, the kids ended up looking at Taro with fear in their faces.

"Freak!" One kid started to scream and others easily joined him. If it wasn't for his good friend Dan he would be beaten even more. Dan grabbed and pulled him out. Even then Dan was bigger than anyone in their age. He pulled him into one of the alleyways and sat him on the ground. Taro has been in bigger shock than the other kids. Dan sat right in front of him but Taro didn't even blink he was just staring into nothing. His best friend always knew what to do, so he gave him a good old smack. Taro snapped out looking into Dan's eyes gently stroking the place where his best friend just smacked him.

"Why?" Said Taro silently.

"Go home to your parents and tell them what just happened. Go! Run before they find you!" Taro stood up and as Dan told him, ran home.

Taro got home and first thing he did, he hugged his dad and started to cry.

"What happened to you my little sweet boy?" Said Mikhail. Taro tried to look into his fathers face, but ended up crying even more.

"Tell, me." Mikhail looked on his son and figured. "Somebody beat you up. Tell me who it was I'm gonna deal with him."

"I dealt with him." Said crying Taro. Mikhail smiled, but when Taro saw it and started to cry more and more, he knew something isn't right.

"What's wrong?" He asked carefully.

"I... I... I burned him. I'm freak like they are saying."

"No, you are no freak son. You are something amazing, you are a firebender." Mikhail was surprised, frightened and little proud. Hell, he was mostly proud. It just turned out that his second son is a firebender too. After that, everything has changed. They had to deal with the police and the scarred kid. Mikhail started to teach him firebending every day. His mom on the other hand started to teach him how to deal with the flow of energy inside and outside. His mom grew up in the Northern water tribe. She, her parents and her siblings were non-benders, but because their ancestors used to be waterbenders they were trained basics of waterbending, all the moves and ideology behind that. She taught him how to turn opponent's own energy against them and how to keep a cool head even if things are going south. Something that his older brother never learned.

One day after school, two teenagers approached Taro.

"Hey kid, are you the Taro Takasu." The young firebender turned around and answered them.

"Yes, I am Taro Takasu."

"Eat this you firebending scum." One of them earthbended a disk made of rock and launched it after Taro.

The disk exploded before it could hit his face. Taro turned around and saw his older brother Rin with two other guys, one of them must have earthbended the disk because he didn't saw a fire hit it. Taro was smiling thank goddess his older brother came to pick him up today. Taro ran to his brother and hugged him.

"Thanks Rin, can we go now."

Rin smiled at his little brother. "Not yet T, I have to take care of this before we can go." Taro released his tight grip and let Rin go. Rin stepped forward with his two friends.

"Guys, Take them down." Rin's friends earthbended some rocks and launched them after the two attackers. They tried to defend, but after they avoided being hit by the rocks a couple of fireblasts hit them hard. Rin jumped forward punching one of them with his fist. When the attacker fell, Rin sat on him hitting him in the face again and again.

"Remember this, if you even try to hurt my brother or anyone I love you will get hurt! I will find you and kill you!" At this point Rin was yelling and punching the poor guy. Taro ran to his brother. He grabbed Rin's arm and tried to pull him away.

"Let him go, you will kill him! Let him go!" Taro punched his brother with fire-fist. Rin fell on the ground next to the attacker. He looked at his little brother, surprised. Taro was standing there over the guy that attacked him, crying. His face was full of tears and one big snot hanging out of his nose.

"Why are you defending this guy?" Said Rin with concern and surprise in his voice. He didn't understand it.

"You... could have... killed him!" Rin looked at the guy, he was barely breathing. His teeth were lying on the ground and blood was covering half of his face. He still didn't understand.

"Yeah, he wanted to hurt you." Said Rin, angrily.

"You can't do this." Taro wiped his face and left. Rin looked at his little brother leaving. Rin was feeling a lot of anger toward these guys and his little brother, strange. How could he defend the attackers. He got up.

"Dai, Goro, take these guys into the hideout. We're not done with them."

* * *

><p>"Happy birthday Rin." It is five years after Taro found out that he is a firebender and his older brother just turned eighteen. Taro woke his brother up. Big brother turned to him and opened his yellow eyes.<p>

"Good morning T." Rin noticed that his younger brother is holding a present in his hands.

"That's for you." Taro gave the present to him.

"Thanks." The older brother got up, sat on his bed and took the present. He opened it and inside was a stone in a shape of a flame.

"That's nice T, where did you get it?"

"My friend Dan helped me make it. And here is a string, you have to put it through this hole and then you can wear it around your neck." Rin did as his brother told him, he put it around his neck and hugged Taro.

"Thank you." Rin got up, put his clothes on and left into the living room. Their parents greeted them, they sat around the table in the middle of a room and all of them ate breakfast.

"So Rin here is our present for you." Mikhail pulled something long from under the table and put it on the table. The thing was wrapped in cloth. Rin unwrapped it and under the cloth sword appeared. The sword is short one-handed with its head looking like a head of a dragon.

"That is amazing dad." Rin didn't sound very excited and Mikhail noticed it right away.

"What's wrong son."

"I just thought you would give me the thing that you have hidden in the basement in the little wooden box." Mikhail's face turned red.

"You won't touch that thing ever! How did you find it?"

"Why? I can sell it on the black market and we could easily live with that much money in the Middle ring."

"No! I will not give it to you and nobody is going to sell it."

"Do you even understand what you have?"

"I think you don't understand what it is and what it means to me!" Both of them were screaming at each other. Taro and his mom left the room. "Get out of my house!" Last thing they heard was sound of Rin slamming the door and leaving the house forever.

* * *

><p>It has been a day since Rin left the house. After what happened mom and dad stopped talking. Night fell on the Ba Sing Se. Taro and his mom were drinking some tea when a loud noise came from downstairs. They looked at each other with wide open eyes and fear covering their faces.<p>

"Stay here mom, I'm going to check it out." Taro's father was supposed to be still down there cleaning tables and preparing for tomorrow.

"Alright Taro, but please be careful." Taro left the apartment and headed downstairs to their shop/restaurant. Although he said to mom to stay upstairs, she followed him. He entered the restaurant and saw five men wrecking the place and other two beating his father. Fear filled Taro, his mom cried out loud. The men noticed them.

"Boss should we take care of them too?" One of those men said.

"Of course you idiot!" The other one replied. These two then stepped towards Taro and his mom.

"Get out!" Taro yelled at them. Suddenly fear was replaced with anger and rush of an adrenalin. Taro jumped over one table and fired few fireblasts after the nearest man. Thanks to the moment of surprise he got hit by all the fireblasts and ended up on the ground. The other guy saw it and jumped towards Taro. The young firebender froze, for a moment he thought that he will end up like his father, beaten almost to death lying in a corner. But thanks to his mother it will never happen, she picked up one of her favorite frying pans and smacked the guy in the face. The second guy ended up as the first one. The other guys saw it and stopped doing what they were doing and instead of it they were coming closer and closer to Taro and his mom.

"Taro, prepare yourself and remember the things your father and I taught you." Taro nodded, but before something could have happen, Rin entered the room. Rin was surprised and second after that angry as hell.

"Akio, Dai, Goro, get in." Then three guys entered the house. They stood behind Rin like he is an a boss to them.

"What are you doing here?!" Yelled Taro.

"Our boss is angry with you. He hates you for what you did to him last night." One of the unknown men said.

"Well, tell mister Unagi that his goons are not welcomed in my fathers house."

"You think you can tell us what to do?"

"No... I know it!" Rin waved with his left hand and his 'friends' attacked the goons. Rin himself drew his sword and attacked one of those guys. Everyone was fighting but one of the Unagi's men. Taro jumped to the guy tripping one of his legs with fire-kick and when he was falling on the ground Taro punched him into the stomach with his elbow and then fireblasted his face. The poor guy couldn't even blink before falling unconscious.

"That's for my father."

Akio, the new guy ran toward his opponent which draw a dagger. The guy threw his dagger right after Akio's face, but Akio jumped up and when he landed he stomped the ground and made the ground under his opponent shoot a pillar right into his chin. Akio's opponent fell on the ground like a bag of potatoes.

Dai and Goro both used same pillar technique as Akio, but much more aggressive. In the end their opponents were imprisoned by a bunch of pillars aiming for their heads.

Rin however used fire on his sword and was swinging furiously at his enemy. The guy tried to evade his attacks, but didn't succeed. Rin swing after his head and when he was evading it, the firebender ducked and kicked him in the knee making him fall on the ground. Rin then laid the tip of his sword on the guy's neck.

"If you ever come back, I will kill every and each one of you and after that I will hunt down your family and everyone you care about... is that clear?"

"Of course."

"Pick your friends up and get out of my sight." The guy then got up with the other guys that were still conscious, they picked the unconscious ones and left. Their mom then ran to her husband crying.

"Get my father to the nearest hospital, now!" Akio, Dai and Goro picked his father up and with Taro's and Rin's mom left the house. Little Taro ended up there only with his big brother and the mess the goons made.

"I'm sorry for what happened." Rin sat in front of Taro.

"It's ok, just never leave us again." Taro's face filled with tears while he was hugging his brother.

"I'm sorry but I have to go again. I have some business to attend to, but I promise you, I will keep you and our family safe."

* * *

><p>Taro was sitting in the middle of a burned living room with ashes of his mother in one hand and ashes of his father in the other one. The silence interrupted sound of doors opening. Rin walked into the living room with two of his gangsters. Rin looked at his younger brother with concern.<p>

"What happened?" Rin asked carefully.

Taro got up leaving the ashes behind. He looked at Rin with tears in his eyes and anger boiling deep inside him. Taro slowly walked towards his brother while throwing fireblasts at him one after another. They didn't hurt him, but Rin knew why he was doing it. When Taro got to his brother, he hugged him finally leaving the cry out of his mouth.

"You... you... You said that you will protect us. Why didn't you protect us Rin? Why?!"

"I failed." Admitted Rin, making the hug stronger. "I am sorry."

"I don't have a place... a place to go." Tried the young firebender say while crying. "They are gone... forever." Whispered tired Taro.

"You are always welcomed in my house T. Nothing will ever happen to you there."


End file.
